Several weeks ago the Brunswick Town Council took action to disapprove a school renovation project submitted by the Brunswick School Board. As a former member of both council and school board, it appeared clear to me that the town manager and the school superintendent had failed to do sufficient groundwork with both the council and the school board to ensure that positive progress would be made. Joint workshop sessions of the two governing bodies could have made such a negative outcome less likely.

On Tuesday of last week, The Times Record lead article was about a list of questions which the school superintendent has submitted to the town council. Brought to mind was the superintendent’s letter to his staff a couple of years ago in which ill conceived criticisms were made of the governor. The current letter as reported appears to be tinged with arrogance and insult. Town councilors don’t “answer to” the superintendent.

The Brunswick community has thrived and progressed under exemplary leadership of former managers John Bibber and Don Gerrish and former school superintendents Dan Calderwood and Dale Douglass. The current holders of those offices need to substantially step up their respective performances to begin to approach the level of leadership of the named predecessors in those positions.

Ervin D. Snyder,
Brunswick